Michael Zucchet

Age: 39

Residence: Point Loma

Job: General manager, San Diego Municipal Employees Association

Family: Wife, Teresa, and children ages 6 and 3

Background: City Council member, 2002-05. Former government affairs director for the San Diego City Firefighters. Former aide to Councilwoman Valerie Stallings, who resigned in 2001 after admitting she took gifts from San Diego Padres owner John Moores while casting votes in favor of the city’s downtown ballpark.

Once tarnished for his involvement in one of San Diego’s most sensational political scandals, former Councilman Michael Zucchet has re-emerged as a presence in local politics, leading the city’s largest labor union amid budget cuts and layoffs.

Zucchet has made a comeback as general manager of the San Diego Municipal Employees Association, a job that comes with a six-figure salary and political clout that does not require facing the electorate every four years.

Not so long ago, it looked like Zucchet might go to prison. A federal court jury convicted him of trading campaign contributions from a strip-club owner in exchange for efforts to repeal a ban on customers touching dancers.

A judge overturned the guilty verdicts on seven out of nine counts, citing insufficient evidence of any quid pro quo, and granted Zucchet a new trial on the other counts. In September, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judge’s decision. Prosecutors have not decided whether to pursue the remaining two counts.

“I am largely at peace, which I think is a significant accomplishment,” Zucchet said during a recent interview at his union office. “I am happy professionally. I am incredibly happy family-wise and feel optimistic about the future.”

The Point Loma resident and third-generation San Diegan was once a rising star in San Diego’s Democratic circles – a fresh face who had managed to get elected in a Republican-leaning City Council district, despite being outspent. His downfall came before his first term was over. He was convicted in 2005 on corruption charges and resigned.

Now all but cleared, Zucchet, 39, retains the youthful look he had when elected in November 2002.

“He’s managed to maintain his aplomb. He’s managed to maintain his sanity,” said Larry Remer, a longtime strategist for Democratic candidates who is friends with Zucchet as well as former Councilman Ralph Inzunza, who was convicted along with Zucchet. “I really admire his resilience and his willingness to get back in there.”

In contrast, Inzunza has stayed below the radar and out of politics. His convictions have been upheld, but his 21-month prison sentence is on hold pending appeal.

Former San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre, a fellow Democrat, said that even if Zucchet is cleared legally, it doesn’t mean he’s morally innocent.

“In a sense, he’s a tragic figure — a reflection of both the possibilities of San Diego and its shortfalls,” Aguirre said.

Zucchet said he feels vindicated by the legal outcome and that he has always believed that justice would be done.

“People said, ‘How did you get out of bed every day?’ Well, it was to fight like hell. That’s how I got out of bed every day,” he said, recalling the trial and conviction.